That the rights of hundreds of thousands of visitorsand New Yorkers were trampled upon bythese self-righteous protesters did not preventtheir being gushed over by TV commentators.

Watching cable, I saw one anguished man cryout from a blocked car that he was trying to get hissick dog to the vet. But his rights were inferior tothose of protesters to block traffic, chant slogansand vent their moral outrage to TV cameras.

From New York to Washington to Oakland,crowds acted in solidarity to block main arteriesat rush hour.

Has President Barack Obama condemned this?Has Attorney General Eric Holder?

Remarkable. Underlings of Governor Chris Christiehave been under investigation for a year for closing off lanes to the George Washington Bridge.Contrast liberal media indignation at Christie withliberal media indulgence of the lawbreaking onDecember 4 and you will see what people mean whenthey talk of a moral double standard.

What were these protests about? A grand jury on Staten Island voted not to indict New York PoliceDepartment (NYPD) Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the deathof Eric Garner last July. As the video that has goneglobal shows, Pantaleo sought to arrest Garner, a6’5”, 350-pound man arrested many times before.

What was Garner doing? Selling cigarettes oneby one on a main street, a public nuisance for thestores and shops in front of which he plied histrade, but not a felony and surely not a capital offense. A misdemeanor at most.

Repeatedly, Garner cried, “I can’t breathe!” Onthe ground he again cried, “I can’t breathe!” Andhe died there on the sidewalk.

Undeniably, terrible and tragic. Undeniably,not a natural death. And undeniably the way Garnerwas brought down and sat upon, an arm around hisneck, contributed to, if it did not cause, his death.Yet Garner did not die by strangulation. Accordingto the city medical examiner, he died from the “compressionof chest and prone positioning duringphysical restraint by police.”

In short, the cops were holding him down bysitting on him.

As Representative Peter King (R-N.Y.) said on December 4: “If[Garner] had not had asthma and a heart conditionand were not so obese, he would not havedied.” The Washington Post reports that the medicalexaminer seemed to confirm this, describing“Garner’s asthma and hypertensive cardiovasculardisease as contributing factors.”

Why would a Staten Island grand jury not indictPantaleo for murder or manslaughter in thedeath of Garner? In a word, intent.

Did Pantaleo intend to kill Garner when he arrivedon the scene? Did Pantaleo arrive intent oninjuring Garner? No and no.

Pantaleo was there to arrest Garner, and if heresisted, to subdue him and then arrest him. Thatwas his job.

Did he use a chokehold, which the NYPD bans, or a takedown method taughtat the police academy, as Pantaleo’s lawyer contends?That is for the NYPD todecide. The grand jury, viewing the video, decidedthat the way Pantaleo brought down Garner wasnot done with any criminal intent to kill or injurehim, but to arrest him.

Garner’s death, they decided, was accidental,caused by Pantaleo and the other N.Y. Police Departmentcops who did not intend his injury ordeath, with Garner’s asthma and heart disease ascontributing factors.

Now that grand jury decision may be wrong,but does it justify wild allegations of “racist cops”getting away with “murder”? This reflexive rushto judgment happens again and again.

We were told Trayvon Martin was shot to deathby a white vigilante for “walking while black,” butlater learned that Trayvon, when shot, had beenbeating a neighborhood watch guy nearly unconscious,“martial arts style,” while sitting on top of him.

We were told that Ferguson cop Darren Wilsongunned down an unarmed black teenager forwalking in the street, but later learned thatMichael Brown just robbed a convenience store,attacked Wilson in his patrol car and was shot tryingto wrest away the officer’s gun.

Liberals [and the liberal mainstream media] areimprisoned by a great myth—that America is aland where black boys and men are stalked byracist white cops, and alert and brave liberalsmust prevent even more police atrocities. Theylive in a world of the mind.

The reality: As of 2007, black-on-white violentcrime was nearly 40 times as common as the reverse.But liberals can’t give up their myth, for itsustains their pretensions to moral superiority. It defines who they are.

Only problem I had is when folks resist arrest like the above cases. We may not like it, but if a cop says to do something it better be done or things are going to escalate. Garner had been arrested before many times, he knew the drill and still refused. It is tragic it ended the way it did and I don’t think it had to be that way. Cops are there to uphold the law not make the rules. If we don’t like the rules then change them! I am only commenting on the above cases and not others, btw.

I see the point of views of judges, attorneys, and cops, but for God’s sake, a man is dead for doing nothing wrong! How to justify Pantaleo’s attempt to arrest him for selling cigarettes; even if he had told to Garner repeatedly not to? And why not? Obviously, somebody needed his service and bought from him! Give a man a warning or a citation if needed, fine him more than this business produces, you can get your point across, but this self-ruling police superiority must stop! What happened to respect, humility, and love for one another? This is not a black or white issue, but a service man assuming a rulership position issue, the dog biting the master’s hand that feeds him issue. It is a shame and disgrace to society, a disservice, causing a evil downward spiral. Once the two parties, police and civilians, become antagonistic as police forfeited their purpose to help and protect citizens, this bottomless pit can never be satisfied!

Granted, police do protect us also, and we appreciate that, only the good cannot justify wrong. I see how young men put their lives on the line of duty as criminal offenses are increasing, but there is a great moral falling away and we must return to decency and order, to the golden rule, fatherhood of God and brotherhood of men. It is a choice each of us must make and then stick with it! A noble cause that’s worth living and dying for, not for hostility, control and law enforcement.

Most of us should not be treated as if we were criminals, even if we break the law unaware. It became the norm among police to assume evil intent of citizens, and from that position we might be able to prove our innocence and let go. Three police officers have landed on me arriving in two flashing police cars, and interrogated me for sitting down on a bench after business hours on a street bus stop. I wanted to sit for a few minutes to enjoy the city view on my way to a nearby store, walking from McDonald’s a block away. Turned out that I was trespassing. What king of a law is that? Surely it is not a common sense law. By the grace of God, I was let go and not arrested, after verifying my criminal records of no previous offense. Upon arriving to the ‘crime scene’ they cross-examined me about my business, intention, connections, and fanatically asked questions that they had no business to ask, thus I refused to answer. One stated,”I can ask anything I want, I am the police.” Shame on you, son! I lived long enough to say, I have never seen anything like this in my life! The result of this arrogant superior attitude is overpopulated prisons, increasing brutality and lawlessness. We either turn around or perish! We need Jesus, the one and only who can make this right! I am serious that following Him is the only answer. The world is rushing the wrong direction.

Sorry, man. Apart from the fact that shooting warning shots into the air is rather dangerous in a crowded metropolis (the bullet will land somewhere, after all), Pat argues pretty effectively that Wilson was in danger. 300-lb. thug was trying to take his gun when he fired. How is that not a grave situation?

Pat Buchanan, you don’t know what are you talking about! In a normal society, the cops are obligated to protect the human lives, the cops shoot warning shots at air, only in a danger at legs, and in a grave situation they can kill. But your blood thirsty Yiddish lawmakers in your American Jer-USA-lem follows the Jerusalem daily kills in the Khaganate Yisrael, where the Palestinians are daily shot and killed like an animals by the terrorist Yiddish cops and military.

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